Mme Mina's Master Class  2 : New Year Resolutions
by Katherine NotGreat
Summary: Of heroines and resolutions, and how hard it is to be a light in the darkness. Tribute to Little Women. Sequel to Madam Mina's Master Class.
1. Madam Mina Takes A Holiday

Madame Mina's Master Class: part 2

_Madam Mina Takes a Holiday_

"New Year won't be a proper New Year without making resolutions!" declared a redheaded, pretty but strong-minded, young lady, lying on a rug near the fireplace.

" April, dear, don't you think that we–those present in this room–have already made quite a number of them so far?" politely reasoned an elderly lady who stood by the window, with honey-colored hair, fine figure, and a "motherly" look upon her sweet face.

"Of course, Wendy-bird, and many of them sounding quite _impossible, _even from my viewpoint," agreed a slender, fragile lady of indefinite age, dressed in blue (As a matter of fact, all them but for the redhead were wearing different shades of blue) with a chuckle, as she vaguely examined numerous books on the cabinet shelves.

"Excuse my being blunt, but what's the point of promising something we are hardly likely to carry out?" exclaimed the fourth lady, the youngest and the most pretty of all, whose dress and haircut declared the latest fashion. "As for me, this New Year I prefer to make a wish instead!" And she turned on her high heels towards her colleagues with a challenge in her eyes.

"Oh, really, Susan? And what wish might that be?" Three pairs of curious eyes were looking straight at the fair rebel in expectation.

"Well…honestly, I wish for some rest…That's it–for a small break. Or, perhaps, none too small…"

A mutual gasp in the room was too loud to be unheard.

"Yes, I'd like to take a holiday!" repeated the girl, now with more pluck than the first time. "In fact, we here are_ women, _not some robots from those so-called _sci-fi stories_ of your husband, April, and we really aren't supposed to work non-stop! We may be heroines, but we still are _human beings_, for Aslan's sake!"

The redheaded American—the only one in the group to be so—snorted.

"Honestly, girls," Wendy murmured, as if unsure whether to share her thoughts with the others or not.

"Susan may be a little immature, not being able to hide her emotions, but her words are not lacking in good sense…"

However, this time, there was no gasp heard.

"To tell the truth", Wendy continued, "sometimes I feel drained like a…like a…"

"An orange after being used for a glass of orange juice" April finished the phrase. "Mother Wendy, you are really too much of a lady—not to beat about the bush! _Sometimes, _you say? Well, for me, this condition is almost a permanent one!" And she adjusted the folds of her dashing red and white kimono over the customary yellow jumpsuit.

"To tell the truth", Wendy continued in a shy voice, "James _is _very hard to endure at times…Oh, man unfathomable indeed! Really, often during our marriage, I sometimes believe I have four children instead of three! And there had been moments in how hard it was to make him believe it was he who made decisions all the way…"

The "eternal mother" then uttered an almost audible sigh.

"Dear Wendy-bird," Alice at last seemed to switch back to reality from her dreamy state, "I'm not fond of complaining, but your James, with all his flaws, is at least _sane! _Not that Tarrant has many flaws, you know…but sometimes…sometimes I do wish he would be less mad at least for an hour…or better, two or three hours!" And she stepped away from the bookcase , throwing backwards a stray blonde curl. "Just fancy that all those years I had to manage both household AND business matters mostly by myself! And, mind it, my upbringing was quite different from April's or Susan's! I wasn't supposed to even know what the accounting books or bills or stocks were, let alone keeping them in order!" She made a soft chuckle.

"Well, although _I_ wasn't brought up to be a lady," objected April, changing her position on the rug to a sitting one, "I don't think I have an easier life, living 50 years ahead of you in the future! Your husbands are at least English AND gentlemen, whereas mine is neither! Those Oriental folks and their ways!" she made another defiant snort.

"Well, Mr. Saki at least is not afraid of alarm clocks, is he? Neither has he a crocodile-phobia," returned Wendy.

April looked at her elder colleague with mild reproach.

"And do you think TURTLE-phobia is any better? And let's not forget to mention Saki's tendency to search for his katana (which is, thank God, safe in the attic!) every time he is displeased with someone. And it is not a rare occasion, Mother Wendy, I assure you ! As for his being sane," the news reporter gently nodded into Alice's direction, "I've got strong doubts about that issue…especially when in the morning, trying to wake him up, I hear: "Not now, Krang!" or "Those wretched TURTLES!" or "This world _will belong to me!"…_And if we only happen to pass near some museum…"

The former Queen of Narnia cut her short in the middle of the sentence.

"You don't have the least idea of what I have to endure on a daily basis! Really, my lot is the hardest of all! Imagine, living with a former self-claimed Dark Lord, whose main goal for the most of his life used to be to take over the world, whose ambition and self-assurance are large enough to fill an average castle, but whose income at present won't allow me to buy all the pretty things I want, and, besides, who had been until recently suffering from a severe attachment disorder, and had no idea what a _normal _family or family relationship should be like!" The pretty girl even shed a tear or two into her immaculate white handkerchief. "Moreover, he is _hungry almost all the time!"_ she added with dread. "And to think, I graduated from university to be a mere cook!"

"Not only a cook, honey, but also a secretary, a housekeeper, a nurse, and even a sort of psychologist!" Wendy gently reminded her younger colleague.

"OK, girls," the redheaded "guest from the future" summed up the mutual feelings, hanging now heavily in the air, "I reckon we do have a right for a break, all of us!"

The murmur in the room became louder, like in an average beehive.

"Surely, heroines have the same civil rights as other people do!"

"All work and no play make Jill a dull girl!"

"We are too valuable society members to be used up!"

"_Oh,is that so_? So, from now on the salvation of the drowning is solely the business of those who are drowning, my dear girls?" A rich mezzo-soprano voice, followed by a rustle of skirts and a vague aroma of lilies-of-the-valley floated into the room, making the other ladies almost jump up and gape.

"Oh, Madam Mina…"

"So, my ladies, a _break, _eh?"

To say the Extraordinary Ladies looked uneasy would be a considerable understatement.

"Madam Mina", the Underlandian Champion started, "I'm afraid you haven't heard everything quite right…"

"Why, Alice, I may be old, but I am, thank God, by no means deaf!" The elderly Headmistress still had a royal air around her, making Alice wonder what fate would await Underland if their benefactress had indeed once replaced Mirana of Marmoreal. "I take it that all of you wish to have some rest?"

The answer was silence.

As if not noticing the mutual unease, the lady went on, "Well, the words of Miss Pevensie are by no means silly, after all. Moreover, to settle the matter of New Year resolutions, my friends, I personally prefer to make a one now—not to interfere with other people's lives anymore!"

Everyone stared at her, dumbfounded. Even April slowly sat back on her carpet.

"But, Madam…" Wendy started, at a loss for words.

"Yes, a well-deserved rest is all I need just now," continues the President of the League, installing herself into a comfortable armchair and putting her elegant feet on a nearby footstool. "At my age and state of health, my own family must be quite enough to take care of. Especially Ilosovic," she added with a soft chuckle, "Yes, my husband is indeed _too much of a good thing!_ And other men, especially villains, shouldn't really worry me, indeed! Really, am I all villains' keeper? A cup of tea _a la russe, _with lemon and sugar, a soft blanket and some good old operatic tragedy—that's all I need for now!"

"Still, Ma'am," Susan appeared to be searching for right words as well, all her rebellious look vanished, "and what will become of us? You were our leader, our mentor and teacher…"

Mina's expression became as unreadable as ever.

"And what, my ladies, exactly came as a result of my so-called teaching? A bunch of cross-looking females, wallowing in self-pity and envy? Some mentor I used to be, as I see now!" She looked around the room with a somewhat wistful glance.

"Perhaps it is better for all of you that I had never meddled into your lives!" Mina deliberately didn't show her noticing the existential shock of her younger colleagues.

"Were it not for my interference, Wendy _darling," _she nodded to her overwhelmed ex-student, "you'd now be happily married to your father's colleague's son; a mistress of an immaculate small apartment and a mother of, most likely, _one _daughter, as, taking into consideration the world economy recession. It's hardly likely that your husband would let you have more children. So, dear little Jane would be quite overprotected, which wouldn't, however, prevent her one day from flying away "from all those silly grown-ups" to rather dangerous adventures, and your place, I fear, would be eternally by the window, dear girl…"

Wendy went pale as a sheet.

"And you, Alice dear, would be by now either another Lady Ascot, both in name and character, scolding your servants for the wrong color of planted roses, or, worse, an inhabitant of Dr. Seward's sanatorium…and, anyway, too big to fit into a rabbit hole any longer…"

The Underlandian Champion's face fell.

"As for you, April, with all your remarkable traits, I'm afraid you'd soon turn into an insufferable, bossy, sensation-addicted workaholic—did I use that term from your time correctly?—with nowhere to go at Christmastime, and with no one to receive flowers from, but for your hard-shelled friends…who'd still have a hard time battling with a power-obsessed and equally insufferable maniac…

April's face now was almost the same color as her hair.

"Finally, regarding you, little Susan, perhaps you would _pretend to behappy_, trying not to think of your siblings and your former title, seeming to enjoy all those numerous parties and boyfriends, but would your life be truly a full and happy one—ah, _bonne question, _as your friend MissStuart would say…And moreover, the world would have another "angry young man," eager to take it over, with no love at heart, only lust for power…"

Poor Susan was on the verge of tears now, biting her pretty red-colored lips in repentance.

"…But," Mina raised her voice a fraction, "why think about the world and its fate, if you, my dears, seem to be mostly worrying for yourselves? Therefore, my resolution is to retire from my post in the League. God knows I do deserve some rest. You may all leave now. See you some day next week for teatime, ladies!"

For a moment, nobody stirred from their places.

Then, April reluctantly got up, adjusting her kimono over the notorious jumpsuit.

"Well, ma'am…girls…I'll be going, then…" She looked rather unwilling to leave, however. "And to think I just thought about bringing along Roxanne—my friend from another TV channel—over here to learn a thing or two…Pity, she didn't have the chance of meeting you…"

Wendy also made a step forward, an uneasy look in her eyes.

"I believe I must be going as well. James doesn't like for me to be away from home for long. And besides, I promised him to edit his next chapter tonight…Good-bye, then, Madam Mina, girls…"

"And I," said Alice abruptly, "do have to go home and check on Tarrant. I really have. Who knows what madness could come over him in my absence…Wait, Wendy, I'm coming along!"

"Oh, and I almost forgot about the dinner!" exclaimed Susan, making a hasty retreat towards the door. "And what if Tom comes home earlier than usual? Not that there's nothing to eat in the house, but he'd grumble all the evening that I don't care for him and so on and so forth…"

"Yes," added April, ready to step into the looking-glass portal, "speaking of food, I can imagine what Saki would concoct in my absence…I'm not too much of a conservationist, but how on Earth can those Japanese eat _raw fish?" S_he cast a last longing glance in Mina's direction. The latter, however, seemed to be dozing in her armchair. "OK, so long, ma'am, Wendy, Alice, Sue!"

The others were about to leave the room as well.

The President kept silence.

And then, just while April was making a step into the looking-glass, something _Very Extraordinary_ happened.

There was a sudden crash, a whirl of wind, and a flash of lightning—all the effects Madam Mina used to admire in her younger days…

And a strange young lady, about the same age as Susan, and possessing equally good looks, with tangled curly blonde hair and wide, desperate blue eyes, dressed in a stained white silk-and-lace gown—perhaps a wedding one—almost knocked the astonished reporter down to the floor.

Once again, everyone gasped in shock. In fact, it was becoming customary for the League members to do so.

The President of the League all but jumped up from her armchair.

"_Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que ça?" _whispered the newcomer, obviously frightened out of her wits.

"And just who is THIS _lovely creature?"_Alice finally asked.

"I reckon this pretty little doll just dropped into the wrong mirror," grumbled April, getting up from the floor and adjusting her mistreated kimono again.

The girl in question made an uncertain step towards Mina, her face wet with tears.

"_Mon nom est Christine…Christine Daaé.. __Je suis..." _

Mina stepped forward, her facial expression at last becoming the usual one—that of compassion and understanding, and hugged the astonished girl.

"Welcome to the League of Extraordinary Ladies, dear child! Susan, please tell Nivens to bring more tea!"

The other heroines finally relaxed.

Life was going on again. Or, speaking in the newcomer's language, **la vie continuait**


	2. Gentlemen Take on A Tough Case

Chapter Two: Gentlemen Take Up A Tough Case

"Has anyone got any idea where we are going? Or, at least, whom we are looking for? All right, that was a silly question, I admit."

"I wish we took Shreddy-bear with us on this little expedition. At least we could have used his sneaking-and-plotting-under-the-surface skills…"

"Tosh! I'm glad we left both him and Riddle—those proud and insolent youngsters—behind! Saki is too much of a hothead; and as for the latter one, he knows about love no more than I do about mechanics!"

"I agree, James. This is a job for mature men like us!"

"And just who told you about your being mature, Ilosovic? Anyway, don't believe him—he is a shameless flatterer! We only took you along so that you could hurry us up, in case Hightopp and I lose track of time in our…er…arguments! Besides, Hightopp—hey, do you hear me, bully?—lunatics are your level of expertise!"

"Not exactly, Jimmy! Those for whom madness is a lifestyle—yes. Those who lose their heads because of love—no. Tragic, misunderstood lonely antiheroes are in fact your piece of cake!"

"Don't remind me of cakes, gents, I only took a half-dozen of them, and we haven't even reached our destination!"

"Hey, what was it?"

"I guess some trap or another. Never mind, we have passed it already…"

"Hightopp, I think we were right to take your old friend along. You know, the proverb about fortune favoring fools…"

"I've heard it!"

"So, do you mean we have to _swim?"_

"And that was said by a former pirate captain! Man unfathomable, indeed!"

"Hightopp, you know well enough that I used to be a dry bob at Eton! I told you a hundred times about it, by carbonate of soda!"

"Gents, don't you think that Three Men in a Boat is too much of a plagiarism?"

"No, Stayne, I don't! And believe me, I've read more books in a single week, than you in your whole life!"

"Hush, Jimmy, don't abuse our Ily! He's got our food supplies, get it? Besides, we have no pets in this boat—unless you brought your favorite pair of turtles under your coat!"

"Stop rocking the boat!"

"It's not me, it's him!"

SPLASH!

"I CAN"T SWIM!"

"Thanks, Ily. Now, our score is settled. Can you give me a piece of your cake?"

"For the one who has just been drowning you've got a surprising appetite, Hatta!"

"Oh, nowhere near yours! Wait, looks like Jim has found something!"

"Or someone."

"Looks more dead than alive."

"Old and alone—yes. Done for—not quite, I think."

"Wilhelmina said "Deliver to the quarters" without mentioning in what state he would be."

"Is he dying of starvation?"

"I believe he made up his mind to die of love, Stayne. Is food all you can think of?"

"No, I also think about how you would have tried to drag him upwards without my help. And the thought is so pleasant…"

"Shut up, Ily! Jim, have got any brandy with you by chance?"

"You are going to drink for this poor devil's health _here?"_

"_No, _silly boy! I want him to come to his senses."

"_H_atta, if he did it on purpose—stayed here to die, I mean—then he's got little senses to come to!"

"Here it is, Hightopp, only don't use all of it! Ilosovic, undo the strings of his mask! "

"Darn it, I can't! I'm only used to cutting down knots, not unraveling 'em! Uh-oh…"

"Hightopp, are you sure he isn't dead?"

"At least he isn't _undead,_ as he reflects in the mirror all right. And this little mirror is blurred—he breathes, guys! Not that he was the one for mirrors, I reckon… But again, Jimmy, not all can be handsome like you or me… Ily, don't look so offended! Beauty lies in a lover's eyes—ever heard the proverb?"

"Thanks, Hatta, you're _so considerate."_

"Getlemen, we'd better hurry. If he comes to his senses before we're back in the quarters…"

"But we still got your brandy, haven't we, Jimmy? Ily, put him into the boat, and be quick!"

"Gents, do you really believe that fair maiden would ever accept him?"

"Ily, don't you know that Joan's as good as my lady in the dark?"

"Really, Stayne have you got so little faith in your wife's convincing skills? Indeed, no man is a hero to his valet…"

"If you two choose to insult me, row the blasted boat yourselves!"


	3. Women's Logic and Men's Solidarity

**3. Women's Logic and Men's Solidarity**

(A_ couple of days after the events of Chapter One._)

If there was anything that could make the members of the League of Extraordinary Ladies nervous, it was a long wait, as each one mingled with an annoying, alien feeling of uncertainty.

The mentioned ladies _loathed _uncertainty.

For the first time in their lives they were afraid. Really afraid.

And it was not only the fear for the young lady that had fallen upon them the other day. It was most certainly not.

"And to think she went away and left him to suffer all alone, in those sewers…err, sorry, I meant the dungeons! The lass must be completely nuts to act this way, methinks!"

"Yes, April, completely bonkers. And that fellow was so magnificently _mad! _Doesn't she know all the best people are? And most importantly of all, so mad _about her…"_

"Alice, you are forgetting that not all girls pine for madmen…But I agree, it makes my heart ache to think that a life of a man so _extraordinary, _so talented, so unlike any other, should be filled with nothing but misery and pain, and to end this way, as my James once said, "Alone and unloved…"

"Don't cry, Mother Wendy. Perhaps all will yet be well; Jack will have his Jill…at least Peter always used to say so to Edmund and me…Oh, but it must be terrific to be loved like this…"

"James, you are the only one out of all of us who can speak his language! Do tell him that we haven't thrown away any of his property, only confiscated temporarily!"

"Yeah, Jim, and tell him that he doesn't need to be hiding under a pillow! After all, it's not that we are all Princes Charming here, either!"

"I will translate, but speak for yourself, Hightopp! I have always thought myself to be rather dashing!"

"And, by the way, so did I, Hatta!"

"Then better for both of you, lads, if you had less ambition! I mean, now when both of you are lacking some vital parts of body…"

**"****_HIGHTOPP!"_**

"No need to be so touchy about your appearances, lads, or else our guest will follow by example! Pretend we don't pay attention to him, at all! Ily, pass me the sugar bowl, please! By the way, you seem to have lost your notorious appetite?"

"Well, Hatta, I am not used to such acts of generosity, but this fellow does look like a skeleton. We may as well leave him our share of food. In any case, Wilhelmina will cook more cakes tomorrow…"

"The world must have gone mad!"

"Look who's talking!"

"Gentlemen, do you think we need to share our cognac, as well? He doesn't seem well enough yet to…"

"And someone's lady often says that spirits must only be partaken in illness!"

"Nonsense! I don't remember Wendy saying such things! Or, perhaps, she has been reading too many American novelists!"

"Really, my dear girls, and how romantic!"

"Yeah, Sue, and, surely if all turns out well, this gal shall be treated like a queen! No, like an Empress! Unlike us, mind you!"

"April, you always spoil all the romance with your comments!"

"This is a severe truth, however! All of us had to do extraordinary deeds to reform our husbands, and _she_, I reckon, won't even have to do any house work unless she chooses to."

"I doubt he'd allow her to do anything in the kitchen at all! Not that I think she can cook at all… Besides, this …er…gentleman doesn't share Tom's eating habits, I'm sure!"

"Susan, don't be envious! Remember that we are Heroines!"

"All right, all right…"

"Besides, if she wishes to become like us, then she'll have to learn many things, and cooking is positively not the most complicated of the lot!"

"Yes, and some of them seem quite _impossible, _at first sight…"

"Do you mean washing curtains without washing machine?"

"April, that was NOT funny! And where she came from, washing machines has not been invented yet, my dear!"

"Just joking, girls! All can be well, as you put it. That is, if she _wants_ to become a heroine? And what will we do if she _doesn't_?"

**"****APRIL!"**

"_Tonnère ! Je vous répètes que votre petite amie vous aime pour _******_vous-memes, _**_M. Thomas L'Incroyant! _(Brimstone & gall! I'm telling you once more that your little lady loves you for yourself, Mr. Unbelieving Thomas!)"

"_En etes - vous sur? __(_Are you sure of it?)"

"_Mais oui, je le jure sur mon crochet! __(_Yes, I swear it on my hook!)"

"_Non, vous avez tort! Personne n'aime pauvre Erik... __(_No, you must be wrong. No one loves poor Erik.)"

"_Si, elle vous aime bien!( _Yes, she does love you!)"

"_Non, non… (_No, she doesn't!)"

"_Mais si! (_Yes, she does!)"

"_Non, non , non... _(No, she doesn't!)"

"_MAIS SI! (_Yes, she does!)"

"_Mais c'est impossible ! (_But it's impossible!)"

"_Seulement si vous le croyez, comme un des mes amis dit toujours. _(As one of my friends says, only if you believe it is.)"

"James, tell him to stop asking the same question for the hundredth time and at least eat something!"

"Ilosovic, I'm using all the convincing skills I have! Do not forget that _I'm not _a politician! You should have invited young Riddle for that."

"Tommy doesn't know French, Jim!"

"Very bad form, indeed! He should have learned that from his wife, at least."

"Jimmy, just remind him the poor lass has been shut up with Madam Mina for quite a while, and all for his sake!"

"And tell him he's stupid to think so lowly of himself!"

"I won't translate that! Call him an idiot yourself, if you dare! Besides, at least he doesn't think as highly of himself as you do, my handsome one-eyed friend!"

"That's bad form, James! Now, look, Hatta doesn't know any foreign languages, and he's making the fellow feel less dejected already!"

"Birds of a feather flock together, as you well know…"

"My, are you envious, Captain?"

"Of course not! Envy is very bad form, indeed! Tenez, _Messieurs, à notre fraternité! __(_Gentlemen, let's drink for our brotherhood!)"

"Okay, okay! I'm just trying to judge from a realistic point of view."

"That's a rather pessimistic viewpoint, don't you think?"

"Let us pray it won't turn out a realistic one, then!"

"Let's!"

_From the other wing of the League's quarters the ladies hear an unsteady male choir singing _**_La donna e mobile_**********from Verdi's **_Rigoletto._**

_The most puzzling thing about it was that there were actually _**four******_voices heard instead of the usual _**_three_**_…_

_The doors of Mme. Mina's study have already been shut for three hours…._


	4. Madam Mina Triumphant

**4.** ** Madam Mina Triumphant**

Finally the doors of the study opened, nearly hitting April, who tried to eavesdrop but failed, and a radiant, wet-faced but happy–looking French girl practically waltzed out of said study.

Following her, out came the League's President, looking as if he had just crossed the English Channel on her own, without any nautical devices.

"I take it all went well, Ma'am?" April wondered, ever the reporter. "Has she agreed?"

"She has," answered Mina, breathing hard. "Susan, would you kindly bring me another cup of tea? Or, rather, a half-glass of vodka. I do feel drained…And, Alice, please go and fetch Erik to my study!"

The other ladies gave each bemused looks.

"I'm sorry, Madam," Wendy started uneasily, "but I'm afraid it's not possible at the moment…"

"_Mais pourquoi donc?/ _How so?" The two ladies who had just spent several hours in tumultuous conversation looked earnest.

"Because, Madam," Alice chuckled, "he has been in our lords' company for quite a while—you are sure to know what I mean—and from what we've overheard last from their part of the quarters, Tarrant was trying to teach Monsieur Erik how to Futterwacken…" She then mockingly imitated her Hatter, explaining thus to Christine the meaning of that particular word.

"_Pas grave, Mesdames; je vais lui chercher moi-meme_! (Never mind, ladies, I'm going to find him myself!)," exclaimed the overjoyed young lady and rushed out of the room, leaving the dumbfounded League members behind.

"And," Mina finished her list of chores, "Wendy, please do contact Fr. Stephen as soon as possible! I almost forgot to tell you, dear friends, that we are having a wedding tomorrow. Please don't be late, especially you, April. By the way, you'd better make use of the looking-glass, lest the news catch Mr. Oroku unawares."

"Darn, I almost forgot about Saki! And what if he went to bed without turning off the TV?" April rushed out, making her way towards the looking-glass.

"But, Madam Mina," objected Wendy, "Fr. Stephen is an _Eastern Orthodox_ priest. And both of our guests are most likely _Catholics_…or at least, are supposed to be…" she added with some hesitation.

Mina sank into the armchair, wiping her delicate brow with a white lace handkerchief.

"After all the tantrum they had put me through today," she drawled, "if they _don't_ convert to Orthodoxy by tomorrow noon, I…I…I won't cook any cake for them this night!" And she closed her eyes for exactly ten minutes.


	5. EPILOGUE

_**Epilogue**_

" _Eh bien, James, qu'en pensez-vous?" _(Well, James, what do you think of it ? )

"_Tenez, Erik, votre musique est merveilleuse ! Ah, si j'avais toujours mes deux mains !... _(Well, Erik, your music is magnificent ! Oh, if I only had both my hands!…)

"_Bah ,James, vous me venez de dire vous-meme qu'il n'est pas comme il faut pour un gentillhomme de se plaindre , n'est -pas ? » __(_Well,James, haven't you just told me yourself that it was bad form for a gentleman to be complaining? »)

"_Zut! Vous apprenez des choses bien vite, mon ami_!" (Darn ! You learn things pretty quickly, my friend !)

" _Mais vous ne me quitterez-pas, mes amies?_ » (But you won't leave me, my friends, will you ?)

"Listen, she dares to ask US that question, Sue! As if we could help it now! Now, just look at those innocent large eyes! Go on, tell her something reassuring!"

"_Jamais de la vie, copine!_ _Et n'oublie pas : etre une heroine, c'est pour toujour !_ » (Never, comrade ! Remember – once a heroine – always a heroine!")

"… I wonder whether Madam Mina told her that it's only in fairytales that everything ends with a wedding. In real life everything just begins AFTER the wedding, as we both know…"

" Why, Wendy, I never thought _you _to be that naughty!"

"Alice, you are a tease! I wasn't speaking of becoming a woman, and you know it! What I meant was the formation of their relationship. They are so different, and yet…"

"…And yet, Wendy, you know I tend to believe into even more impossible things! By the way, speaking of Madam Mina, hasn't she always taught us to believe in miracles? Oh, Mr. Saki, how nice to see you again! I hope today the tea is up to your standards?

"Almost so, Alice-san. However, considering the fact that April had been busy all night cleaning and drying the bride's gown and thus forgot entirely to cook breakfast this morning, I would have been pleased even with that awful blend your husband used to brew before we got acquainted!"

"I wonder what they are going to do next, Hatta!"

"Why, what a crazy question to ask on a wedding day, Ily! Of course to produce several _wonderful_ kids, that will surely inherit both her looks and his talent!"

"Aren't you afraid it could turn out vice versa?"

"I'm too old to be afraid of anything, Ily! And as for you , Ily, you should be afraid for yourself!

"How so, Hatta?"

"One more foolish suggestion like this and another helping of cake will be upon that silly head of yours!"

"All right, all right…Not that I had anything against an extra helping of cake…"

"You know, Ma'am, if I still had my supernatural qualities, it would only take casting a simple spell, and everyone on seeing this fellow would take him for Clark Gable! "

"I'm glad you became so thoughtful of others, dear Tom, but no. And don't look at me with such reproach – we both know _what _exactly _would happen _if your…abilities hadn't been taken from you!"

"OK, ma'am, never mind!"

" Besides, my boy, no matter how tempting such a proposition might have been for Christine, she really **_must _**learn to love him for himself, not for his talents or intelligence or any other qualities, existing or not. But that sort of love comes with time and experience…."

"Well, in my case, that remains to be seen…Anyway, Madam, how did you manage to convince the girl?"

" To cut a long story short, Tom, I draw a couple of true-to life pictures, what sort of fate awaited them both if they were to part, and, besides, what a pathetic, depressive novel would be written about them ….And finally, about all those possible sequels, prequels and re-writings…."

"Yes, now I see….In fact, I don't think I'll ever underestimate your convincing skills, ma'am! Really, should you go into politics…"  
"Thank you, Tom, but I believe I'm far better off as I am! "

If a certain Oriental-styled clad shadow from the past had a look through the League' quarters' window at that happy moment, he (that particular shadow) would be amazed beyond measure, on seeing no less than **six **quite **extraordinary **married couples, the male part of them being all "shadow and mystery" and the female part representing sunshine; all gathered together around a large old table, busy in different sorts of merry-making, and looking their best in festive outfits. But this shadow (who can as well remain nameless) would have been shocked even more, had he witnessed an actual **_expression of bliss _**on the unmasked face of his old opponent, who, while remaining the most Extraordinary of all the League members, was now the most close than ever to his ancient wish of "being just like everyone else"…

"So, madam, how about New Year resolutions now?"

"What can I say, my friends? **NEVER SAY NEVER – **that will be, I presume, the best resolution for the coming year…. By the way, April dear, what had you been telling of your colleague , whom you wished to bring along? Roxanne was her name, wasn't it?"

**THE END ( FIN)**


End file.
